


The Nyph in the mountains (Episode 0)

by Sgt_Tarr



Series: The First Demon War (Season One) [1]
Category: Harry Potter - Fandom, Sherlock (TV), Supernatural, X -エックス- | X/1999
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Crossover, Crossover Friendships, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Depictions of Murder, Discrimination, Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Multiple, POV Original Character, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-15
Updated: 2017-03-22
Packaged: 2018-03-21 02:57:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 13,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3674865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sgt_Tarr/pseuds/Sgt_Tarr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A company of Hunters travels trough space, sent on a secret mission by the Men and Women of Letters.<br/><br/>With them travels a wizardess by the name of Luna Lovegood. A researcher from the wizard clan in search of the otherworldly. Not knowing she'll find more than rare creatures as she and the hunters stumble upon a city. A city were every year a curse takes the lives of two victims.<br/><br/>Update (2015-12-19)<br/>Chapter 1 and 2 is rewritten</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own any of the characters eccept for the ones I created myself.
> 
> I only borrowed the characters from Supernatural, X/1999, Merlin, Sherlock and Harry Potter from their creators to create a story I have wanted to write for quite some time now and will give them back once I'm done with my story.

 

**Madriguera – a war fortress on the Ganesa Macula cryovolcano**

The Madriguera, proud fortress of a little village called Relicario Aldea, situated at the foot of Ganesha Macula. The fortress dates back from the time of the Ares Wars and was once witness to the atrocities that took place during the wars. Now it’s largely a ruin and the courtyard where once the clash of arms and the laughter of the soldiers could be heard, only silence reigns.

The inhabitants of Relicario Aldea build the fortress on the cryovolcano’s edge facing the large plain, so that the advance of the enemy could be noticed ahead of time. The inhabitants who were old enough to fight were sent to the fortress to be trained as soldiers in preparation of possible battles. But as it was such a remote place to not be a part of their initial invassion, it took years before the enemy decided to travel towards Ganesha Macula. Giving the small army inside Madriguera ample of time to develop into an army capable enough to withstand the siege of the Soldiers of Ares for a long period of time.

But the inhabitants of Relicario Aldea lost the war regardless and the Madriguera is now the home of a ghost who is doomed to haunt the fortress until she’s redeemed from the role she played in the downfall of her people.


	2. The death of Demetria and her mother

**Relicario Aldea - Titan**

Somewhere on a street in a neighborhood at the good part of Relicario Aldea, a door is thrown open with a lot of anger. A young Titan storms out and turns towards the doorway where the light from inside shines on the cobbles of the street and calls: "One of this days, you've got to let me decide my own life, mother. Cause if this doesn't change, I will one day not come back anymore."

Hair swishing, she turns resolutely and runs down the street as tears begin to fill her eyes. It wasn't the first time that they were fighting. Since the death of her father and her brother Epiktetos, her mother had been afraid of losing her too. Judging the change of that happening too great, her mother began to watch and stipulate her every move, the coming and goings of her friends and decreeing who Demetria could and couldn't see.

At first she had understood her mother's concern, but as she grew older she wanted to decide for herself with whom she associated with and where she went.

The first time when Demetria had expressed her displeasure, her mother had hit her for the first and last time. Demetria had raced out the door, crying, and only stopped running when she'd grown tired.

While running she hadn't really paid attention at her surroundings, which was why she'd ended up in an unfamiliar part of the city. She looked at her surroundings and saw that the houses were built in a style that had been wildly popular with the wealthy families of Relicario Aldea, a few centuries back.

By the state of decay of the facades and the unkept gardens at the front, Demetria judged that only a few people were living here, with little money.

Almost abstracted from view as it was overgrown by plants, she'd seen the imposing statue of Titan's biggest warlord in history in one of the gardens, by change and had looked for other statues in the rest of the gardens.

Between the flower beds, she'd seen several statues of other, smaller warlords, in different sizes and postures. Some of them had been sitting with their sword on their laps, while others had been standing like they were looking out over their armies.

But not all of the gardens had statues of Titan's heroes. When Demetria'd ended up at the garden of the building in the middle of the row of houses, she'd found some statues which at first glance looked like they had been of Titans, but at closer inspection had had some differences. They'd looked strange, with characteristics that Demetria had never seen before. Instead of fur, their bodies were covered by black scales, and upon their faces they had white smudges, forming a mask around fiery red eyes.

Wondering if there were more of these statues, she'd looked in the other gardens. But after searching all the other gardens two times over, she had to conclude to her dismay that this was not the case.

After a while she'd followed the road, curious where the street would leed her to, until she ended up on the outskirts of the city where she found the ruins that would be her safe haven for the times to come. She'd remained there for half an hour, after which she searched for a way back home.

Afterwards they still fought and the number of rules hadn't changed but Demetira was determined not to abandon her mother. And so, after each fight, she would leave home and hide at her place in the ruins until they both had calmed down.

The ivy and moss-covered ruins appear before her and Demetria hops across a low wall as she goes inside the run-down building. She walks through the old corridors to a large room at the end of the building, where she sticks her hand into a hollow inside the wall and takes out a torchlight and a little hurricane-lamp.

She places the lamp on the ground and walks with torchlight in hand to a room at the other side of the corridor. There she digs-up a rolled-up sleeping mat and a pillow from under the pile of wood at the end of the room.

Back in her 'hole' she rolls out her sleeping mat, turns out her lights and lays with a tired sigh her head on the pillow and falls asleep instantly.

)(

The sudden cold wakes Demetria up from a pleasant dream. She shivers as she sits up and pulls her arms around her. Strange, it's never this cold in here. She stands up and walks around to get herself warm.

She thinks about going to the other room and using the wood to make a fire, and picks up the torchlight as she moves towards the corridor. She's about to leave the room when suddenly the light in her hand begins to flicker and ice-cold hands seem to grab her by the neck. She turns around with a startled cry and sees something that curdles her blood.

On the other side of the room she sees the apparition of a Titan male. He's covered in blood and is wearing a centuries old harness of a soldier from the Peoples Army of Ares, dating back from the Great War. His uncanny eyes look at her intensely as he starts to walk towards her with a grin on his lips, promising her a slow and painful death.

She's about to run away when out of nowhere a second figures emerges behind the first apparition. He too wears the armor of a soldier, but where the eyes of the first one are black, _his_ eyes are a fiery red. The same red Demetria had seen on the statues in that particular garden at the declining area of the city.

The second soldier draws his sword, swings it upward with two hands and swoops it down on the head of the first soldier, splitting it in two. Demetria cries out as the injured Titan's knees buckle and starts to fall on the ground only to dissapear before he reaches the broken flagstones.

The non-Titan soldiers turns his head towards her as he removes his right hand from his sword and extents it in her direction. Blood begins to drip from his claws as he stares at her without a word and dissapears in thin air with a growl.

The air around her starts to heat up slowely as Demetria drops to her knees and starts to cry in her hands. The room has his old temperature back, when her throat starts to hurt and her tears become thicker and warmer. Demetria pulls her hands away and sees to her horror that they're slippery with blood.

While fear grips her hart, she tries to stop the bleeding, but no matter what she does, the flood of blood can't be stopped. Demetria begins to wail for her mother as the burning in her throat gets to a point where it is agonizingly painful.

Somewhere she knows that no one will hear her, that this place is desolate, that it is more prudent for her to save her energy to get to the inhabited parts of the city, but the fear of what's happening to her has her in its grip, making her enable to think clearly.

She collapses and lies on the ground in a fetal position until she begins to thrash around as unseen blows crash upon her, leaving bruises on her body. Her struggle to get away from the blows lasts for few minutes, when the violence suddenly ends.

Sobbing Demetria turns on her stomach and starts to crawl towards the door, when hands yank her back and throw her against the wall. Demetria begins to choke as invisible hands squeeze her throat and contusions start to appear on her neck.

Wheezing she tries to find the source of her pain but her bloodied hands are only met with empty air as she grabs for her neck. After a short struggle, Demetria stops fighting back as her hands are pinned on the wall. Mewling and with excruciating pain, she positions her head slowly towards the window oppisite her and looks one last time to the clear sky outside where the sun begins to appear on the horizon.

 _Mom_ , she thinks as the light starts to dissapear from her eyes and death takes her inside its embrace,  _I'm sorry that I sould leave like this, that we were torn apart after a stupid fight._

_I hope that you can be happy without us, eventually, and that you will not hold unto the past as frantically as you did with me after the death of dad and Epiktetos._

_Mom, sometimes you have to accept to unfairness of life and enjoy what you have._

A few kilometers from the ruins, Demetria's mother awakes with a jolt. As if she knows that her world had irrevocably fallen to pieces once and for all, she runs outside and starts to scream for her daughter.

And while the sun gently caresses her daughter's ice-cold body, the last bit of mental health disappears from her life as madness takes a hold of her, squashing her soul in its embrace.


	3. As long as you're fine, everything is alright

**Distric UnderAvalon – Earth**

A young dragon walks with great effort through the thick blanket of snow. His breath condenses in the air as he squeezes his eyes against the bright light of the sun. He’s dressed in a long red coat, with black bands at the end of his sleeves and the left side of his jacket, where the coat is fastened by red straps and gold buckles. As is the wide belt at his waist that pulls the coat tighter around him and the two chest pockets with golden buckles. He walks leaning forward as he keeps his hands inside his coat pockets, which are accentuated by its black lining.

Arrived at the hospital, Saiki Daisuki stomps his feet and pads the remaining snow from his pants. As the double doors open up before him, he walks inside and goes straight to the reception at the end of the hall. Daisuki is glad for the warmth inside and pulls off his black gloves as he comes to a stop at the desk of the reception. “Good morning ma’am,greats” he says to the woman behind the desk.

“Good morning. What can I do for you, sir?" she greets him.

“I’m looking for the sentry who was brought here last night. His name is Arisugawa?” 

She turned toward her computer and typed on her keyboard as she entered in the specifics. “They brought him to room 214 after they stitched him up. If you take the elevator to the second floor, you can find his room at the end of the corridor on the right.” He thanked her as he wished her a nice day and walked towards the elevators.

He thinks about yesterday evening and the events preceding their flight to the hospital while they carried the wounded Arisugawa between them. Arashi had surprised them with her emotional breakdown when she’d seen the state Arisugawa had been in.

)(

Two figures in the uniforms of the Dragons of Heaven were standing in the square of an abandoned little town looking out over the forest at the south border of UnderAvalon as the snow slowly drifted from the sky blanketing the hard frozen ground. Daisuki blows in the cup of his hands as puffs of air drift out of his mouth and stamped with his feet to stay warm. They hadn’t started any fire despite the cold so they wouldn’t give away their position to anyone who wanted to cross the border. 

He looked at his friend and squadmate, Arashi. She was standing a few steps away from him by one of the rundown houses and had a pensive look in her eyes as she, sensing his attention, looked towards him. He signed her to ask if she was just as cold as he was when the ground under their feet began to tremble.

“An earthquake?” Arashi asked him. 

Daisuki – whose attention was drawn to the forest where a lightning bolt in the form of a dragon could be seen above the tree tops, shook his head. “No, it’s a Dragon of Earth.” 

Small streams of air started to circle his fingertips as he summoned his wind powers as he looked at his partner. Arashi had lifted her arm straight at her side, palm up and her wrist bend downward.

Meat strips and pieces of bone shot out her left hand, forming a sword who was bound against her palm by strips of skin. The first few times he seen her do that, his stomach had squeezed together, but Arashi had assured him that she’d been used to the pain for a long time.

Suddenly, metal tubes and electric cables shot forth from the ground, as they made their way towards them from the forest. Daisuki ran to the left until he was at a safe distance from Arashi. He turns around quickly and sends a gale of wind towards the cables that attacked him. With the electric cables ripped apart, Daisuki turned his attention on his comrade who’d jumped on a lamppost. With her sword, Arashi cut the tubes apart that beleaguered her, when suddenly a new wave of electric cables wound its way around the pole.

“Arashi” he’d called while Arashi fell forward when the cables destroyed the lantern. Daisuki was able to soften her fall with a small gust of wind when something behind her attracted his attention.

“Behind you!” He yelled when metal tubes lifted one of the rundown houses and let go of the building above her. Daisuki who knew he would be unable to save her from being crushed called her name desperately when the building suddenly came to a halt. Daisuki couldn’t move as he looked at the scene before him.

Daisuki could barely discern a gigantic figure towering over Arashi as the creature held the building with one arm above its head. Sensing the creature hadn’t long before it was crushed, Daisuki called Arashi’s name to attrack her attention.

Arashi must have heard him because she turned towards him and he called to her: “This way, quickly.”

As soon as Arashi ducked out from under its shadow and into safety, the creature collapsed as it was crushed beneath the pile of debris.

“Are you alright, did you get hurt?” He asked as he helped Arashi stand.

“I’m fine,frond” she said, “but that thing just now….”

“It saved you didn’t it?” Daisuki asked her, still not sure what the hell had happened.

“yes, at least I think so. It was a Gohou Douji, I think judging by its markings.” Said Arashi.

Daisuki looked puzzled. “You mean those things that are summoned by monks who practice esoteric Buddhism?” Arashi looked at him anxiously and asked him “could it be….” when she was interrupted.

“Kishu! Saiki!” startled by the sudden outburst of their names, Daisuki turned around when he saw Ryuu walk towards them with a half conscience Arisugawa beside him. The wounded dragon had his left arm around Ryuu’s shoulder as he leaned on him to stay upright while they walked. “Sorata!” Arashi cried as she ran towards the two. Daisuki followed her close behind and as he came closer he saw Arisugawa’s body littered with awful looking cuts and bruises. Especially those on his head and arms were losing a great amount of blood.

“What happened?” he asked Ryuu while he opened his provisions pack to look for bandages.

“I don’t know.” Replied Ryuu as he lays Arisugawa on the ground gently. “We were on our way to you when he suddenly fell down and started bleeding.”

Daisuki had found what he was looking for and began to bandage Arisugawa alongside Arashi, who was still frantically calling the wounded dragon’s name as she bandaged his head. “Were you guys attack by a Dragon of Earth too?”

Ryuu shook his head and frowned “No, there wasn’t anyone near us. That’s what makes it so odd.”

Daisuki reminding how Arashi had wanted to ask him something about the Gohou Douji before they were interrupted, turned towards Arashi to ask her when Arisugawa opened his eyes and put a bloodied hand against Arashi’s cheek. “Nee-san” he whispered, “are you injured?” She shook her head as tears stained her face. “I’m fine, stop worrying about me! It’s you who got hurt.”

Arisugawa smiled as a trickle of blood slipped down the corner of his mouth. “As long as nee-san is alright, I’m okay.” he said when suddenly he leaned forward and began to cough up blood and lost consciousness.

Daisuki saw her stiffen and heard her whisper “So it was, your Gohou Douji that…” when Ryuu called “Saiki, we have to bring him to the hospital, now!” grabbing his attention. Daisuki nodded and walked to Arisugawa’s other side. They put Arisugawa’s arms slowly and carefully around their shoulders. With joined forces they lifted the injured man between the two of them when Arashi broke out of her stupor and suddenly grabbed the front of Arisugawa’s uniform, preventing them from moving forward. “Sorata! Sorata!” she yelled frantically “Please open your eyes!”

“Arashi!” Daisuki grabbed her by her shoulder as he pushed her away, forcing her to listen to him. “Sorata will pull through.” She stared him in the eyes with a blank look on her face as he continued “He will pull through if we take him as quickly as possible to a hospital where they can treat his wounds.” She’d nodded feebly and stepped out of their way.

)(

Having arrived at the second floor, Daisuki steps out the elevator and goes right.

They’d arrived on time and Arisugawa turned over in the safe hands of the nursing staff before he’d bled to death. Arashi had stayed behind in the hospital to keep the dragon company while he pulled through the worst of the healing process.

Arrived at the chamber he went to knock at the door when from within a cry sounded.

“Arashi!” with a bang the door crashes in Daisuki's face, shoving him to the ground. Wind begins to blow gently between his fingers as he readies himself for a possible attack and looks up to see who had thrown the door open with such force.

Irritated by the sight of Arisugawa standing in the doorway with a contorted look on his face, he lets his powers unwind and says with force: “Warn me the next time when you plan on opening doors this way.”

“Sorry” Arisugawa sags against the doorpost and stares before him as he leans forward.

“Where's Arashi?” asks Daisuki beginning to worry.

“She's gone, Saiki” Arisugawa says as he begins to breathe heavily “And it's all my fault.”

Daisuki frowns as he walks over to the other dragon and says “Did something happen between you and Arashi?” The other man shakes his head and hides his face behind his hands as he whispers “No, it's not something that happened, but rather something we did.” He lifts his heads as he furrows his brows “And now I have this ominous gut feeling.”


	4. Arrival on Titan

**Titan**

Titan, Saturns cloudy moon and one of the least hostile places for humans in the outer solar system. Closing in on its atmosphere is a spaceship, carrying a company of hunters from the Men and Women of Letters's Peace Corps.  
It is a cacophony of sounds as soldiers are going back and forth, making their preparations for the descend and checking the equipment for one last time.    
  
In the cargobay soldiers are loading the last of the cargo on the three military transporters while the technical staff performs the last stages of the checkup.  
  
On a balcony overlooking the cargo hold, stood a young woman dressed in a dark blue overcoat. Her light blond almost silver hair was bound in a loose ponytail. Her unblinking light blue eyes staring at the people moving about below.  
She was a wizardess and a researcher from the Hogwardsclan in employment of the Organisation. She'd come to investigate Titan's fauna on the behest of the Men and Women of Letters and couldn't wait to find out what rare creatures she would find on Saturn's moon.

 Behind her at the top of the stairs stood two soldiers, clad in the battle fatigues of the Peace Corps. Guarding her as they focused their eyes on the young woman leaning against the railings.

She stood there for several minutes until her earpiece came to life with a crackle. She could hear the voice of captain Lestrade in her right ear giving her the order to move to the cargo bay. “Wizardess Lovegood, get ready to disembark in two minutes. We will arrive on Titan shortly.”

“Understood captain, we will be there.” Luna answered in a dreamy voice. She turns around and the two soldiers standing at the top of the stairs made an opening between them to let her pass. She descended the stairs as the two people followed her close behind.

She feels the stares of the soldiers pricking at her back when she moves towards the vehicle. But ignores them. They will come to trust her as they get to know her, she thinks as she steps inside.

No-one talks when she moves between them. When she sits down, the soldiers beside her move aside a few inches to distance themselves from her.

“You don’t have to be afraid of me.” She says as she addresses the soldiers around her. “The Men and Women of Letters would’ve never let me go with you, if they didn’t trust me not to hurt you.”

The soldier opposite her scoffs. It’s one of her guards. With pinched mouth the woman looks at the wizardess as she narrows eyes. “Please, we’re hunters of the Peace Corps. We would never be afraid of you, wizardess.”

A hush descends on them until the blearing sound of the alarm breaks the silence, signaling that the spacecraft has landed. Luna ignores the fleeting feeling of sadness and moves her sight over the soldiers inside. In the eyes directed her way she can read the same sentiment the woman had voiced.

The cargo bay opens up as the loading ramp lowers itself and the engines of the vehicles come to life. As soon as the ramp is down the first vehicle moves out, soon followed by the others.

Luna feels a bump when the wheels touch the soil outside. Curious about the sights outside, she turns towards the front of the vehicle. They are surrounded by a brown wasteland as far as she can see. The desert reminds her of no-man-land and she moves her gaze towards the sky looking for something atypical. As she looks at the sky she can see at the horizon the planet Saturn filling up half of the brown yellowish atmosphere of Titan.

Kicking up dust they journey towards the dunes when around midday yellow brown clouds began to gather above them. Lightning making its way to the ground.

Luna stands up and moves towards the front. To get a better view she leans over the shoulder of the driver. Despite her study of Saturn's moon, Luna hadn't expected it to be that impressive. The different forks were clear to see. At every thunderclap, Luna waits for the lightning that would follow. Wondering what form it would take.

 Suddenly, there was a deafening boom. Luna watched in awe as five bolts of lightning hit the vehicle before them. The electricity shots down from the clouds. Hitting the vehicle with full force. The vehicle lights up as the electricity spread over the metal towards the ground.

Without blinking Luna watched as the vehicle was light up by white blue lightning. She didn’t want to miss anything of the spectacle before her. Impressed as she was by the beauty of the power display of Titan's nature.

 A second thunderclap followed. Louder than the previous one as the following lightning bolt hit their vehicle. The hairs on Luna's arm becomes static as the air around her hums. She narrows her eyes against the bright light invading the vehicle as the lightning travels into the ground.

 

 

The column drove on until the storm was over. The ground had become rougher and before them appeared the dunes of Titan. Captain Lestrade told the driver to stop the vehicle and asked Anderson, their tech guy to check the computer systems. The board computer of the command vehicle had been offline since the storm and he wanted it checked before they moved on. Anderson nodded, put on his respiration mask and went outside. The storm had probably fried some of their wiring when the lightning had hit the vehicle.

He contacted the others and gave the command to check their equipment. To look for any damage done by the storm. “And be quick about it.” He commanded. They had lost more than enough time back on earth during lift-off.

The door opened and Anderson stepped back inside with a grunt. “It’s damned cold out there. It’s a wonder my balls didn’t freeze off.”

“Just report your findings, Anderson.”

The guy saluted and said: “My estimate is that the image went black cause of the sensors overheating. The motherboards of the computers are still intact as are the batteries. The navigation system is down for the moment, but will be back online in a few minutes."

Lestrade made to say something, when a message over the com. system interrupted him. “V2 to Command. We’re ready to report.”

“Command to Vehicle 2, come in. What’s your status on the equipment?”

“Sir, looks like the storm only fried our sensors. We figured it will take a few minutes to repair them.”

“V3, how are things on your end?”

“Everything is in order on our end, sir.”

Lestrade turned to Anderson “Is two minutes enough to repair the sensors on both cars?”

Anderson was silent before he said: “I gonna need four, sir. Five minutes, tops.”

Lestrade shook his head “You’ll get three. Get Renfield to help you.”

“You’re sure, sir? You okay with only Rosen watching the wizardess?”

“Just get Renfield, Anderson. I want to move out in four minutes.” Lestrade said with exasperation.

“Yes, sir.” Anderson saluted and walked back outside as Lestrade dismissed him.

 Three minutes passed without incident when the navigation turned back on and the sensors were repaired. When Anderson and Renfield were back inside their vehicles, Lestrade gave the command to move out and the column pulled up and drove into the dunes.


	5. That what is buried underground and in shadows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The column stops for the night and Luna explores the area.
> 
> In the dunes of Titan she finds more than some interesting materials when she stumbles upon a large plain, flanked by a little stream and a big chasm.

As the evening drew closer the clouds pulled away, and Saturn was visible at the sky again. The vehicle at the frond turned left and stopped behind a dune. The rest followed so that the entire column was out of sight of the trail they had been following for a while now.

The engines died down and the hunters got out. While camp was set up, Lovegood walked away from the group and started for the dunes. Becky Rosen and Jonno Renfield following close behind. Their orders were to keep their eyes on her and Becky would be damned to let the wizardess out of her sight.

The trek was slow because the wizardess stopped from time to time, to pick up things from the ground to examine. Becky watched as she took her wand out from its leather sheath at her side. Lovegood then circled the wand above a sample of the soil in her left hand while she muttered an incantation.

After a moment Lovegood had finished her investigation and took out a roll of parchment from her breast pocked to jot down her findings. When she was done, they walked for a while further.

Becky wondered what the other was actually looking for. They had been walking for what felt like hours and the wizardess still wasn't done looking at the ground. _Why was the witch traveling with the Peace Corps in the first place_. When she'd heard the orders that she and Jonno were assigned as Lovegood's guards, she was pissed. She'd asked Parker why they were the ones who had to look after that witch's sorry ass, but he just told her to keep her mouth shut and follow orders.

Dusk began to settle and the last bit of daylight began to dissapear at the horizon. Lovegood raised her wand and said an incantation.  A small orb of light appeared, lighting their way as they resumed their walk.

When she talked to Jonno about her frustrations he told her to keep her cool. To trust the Organisation. That they would have danmed good reasons for putting guards on the wizardess. Becky grunted in frustration. _They were hunters, for peet sake. They hunted supernatural creatures, they didn't protect them._

Dusk had settled and it was completely dark now. The bulb of light was too small for Becky to see where she was going. But when she wanted to turn on her nightvision, the wizardess gestured with her wand and the ball of light became bigger. Big enough for Becky to see the plain they had stumbled upon.

By the soft light of the orb she could see that the ground was broken up at a few places. Something didn't feel right when they stepped on the plain, but Becky shook it off.

Lovegood motioned for Becky and Andrew to stand guard. Becky scowled, but Jonno shot her a warning glance and she walked to the edge of the plain without comment.

Luna walked to the middle as her guards got to the edges of the plain and she began to recite her spells. First a tracking spell to look for any signs of life, followed by a locating spell for things that were hidden. The yellow and blue streaks of light that were her spells shot over the entirity of the plain. Both hunters patrolling the edges of the site to keep her from running into any danger.

When the column had stopped for the night she'd wanted to walk around. Neville and Hermoine had asked her if she could bring some plants and raw materials with her from Titan. She'd figured she could find something during her sightseeing.

She'd seen no flora, but she managed to find something interessting in one of the soil samples. She would need to do some test on it to see if the unknown compound would be usefull back on earth.

Luna waited expectantly for her spell to pick up something when the tip of her wand glowed green. She relaxed her fingers so that the wand was loosely in her hand, and looked down to see where it was pointing. It turned to the right and Luna started walking in that direction.

She walked to the side her wand indicated where she saw a little stream. When her wand pointed left, she followed the liquid methane downstream until the wand tipped downward in her hand.

" **Accio Luminos**." The orb of light floated towards her so she could see where her spell had let her to. She was standing at the edge of a big chasm and she had to take a step back not to fall in. Because she wanted to see what her wand was pointing at, she lay down on the ground and peered over its edge. But the chasm was too deep and the light of the orb to small to penetrade the darkness. So she held up her right hand and flicked her wand.

At her command the orb floated towards the bottom, lighting the wands of the pit on its way down. Luna's gaze followed the light, but she couldn't she anything of interest. She saw only sand, rocks and shadows where the light couldn't reach. _Maybe I can't see it because it burried at the bottom?_   She thought to herself. She contemplated if she could wait till morning to find out what her spell had found or if she would rather find out now.

Having made a decision she disappearated to the bottom of the pit. She could see the ground more clearly now and recited a new spell to take a look at what was buried underground.

The red light from the spell spread over the ground around her and made the soil transparent. She sucked in a breath when she saw what was buried and stumbled back until her back hit the wall. The entire pit was a mass grave.

"Holy shit wizardess. That's a lot of dead bodies." Luna ignored the remark made by one of her guards as he looked down from the edge. The entire underground was filled with mangled bodies lying atop of each other like they'd been driven down the chasm like a herd of bisons. She forced down the bile that crept up her throat and pushed herself off the wall and knelt on the ground.

When she looked more closely she saw that the bodies wore some kind of armor. The faces of the soldiers were hidden by their helmets and their hand like claws gripped the hilt of their weapons that reminded Luna off swords. Another thing she noticed was that some of the bodies were smaller than the others, and Luna wondered with some dread if there had been children among the fallen soldiers.  Luna had seen enough and she began to stand when a wave of dizziness hit her. The spells she'd summoned had taken its toll it seemed.

She had wanted to do some research on the creatures buried here, but that had to wait. She was too tired to do the series of necessary incantations.

She turned towards the man still standing at the top of the chasm, and said: "I would like to come back here tomorrow, to find out what happened here."

"Why? Is it important to know what happened here?" He asked her. She turned away and looked at the bodies buried under the soil she was standing on.

_Who were those soldiers that died here so horribly. Did they die while defending their families and homes or had they been the ones attacking? And if they had been attacking, had they done it in desperation or out off necessity._

She removed her see-through spell and appearated at the edge of the chasm next to guard who cursed as she suddenly stood next to him. "I want to know where they came from and why they'd come here." She said as she stared him in the eyes "I want to know how they died and if they left any loved ones behind." _I want to know if they're like us._

Luna thought back to what the head of her clan had told her when she left for district 1.  _When you're traveling_ _with the Peace Corps, remember us. Remember our plight._

There was peace between the human clans and those of the supernaturals. But the truce was uneasy. Not everyone'd been happy about the arrangements the three families and the Hogwardsclan had made when they founded the five districts, after they had won the war. There was a lot of discrimination between the human- and the supernatural districts, so when news came that the Men and Women of Letters wanted to expand their protection to the galaxy, Hogwards and the dragonsclan UnderAvalon had come together to see if they wanted to do the same.

Her guard interrupted her contemplation when he coughed to get her attention. "Look, Wizardess Lovegood. I don't know why the Men and Women of Letters sent you with us. But if you want to find out who those creatures were, our captain will want to hear a damned good reason why it's necessary to know what happened here."

Luna stared him in the eyes "I have them, but they are for his ears only."

He frowned but nodded and said: "Then I will go tell Becky that we're done here."


	6. Life on Titan for aliens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s the next morning at the ass crack of dawn and Captain Lestrade, Luna and her two bodyguards/guards make themselves ready to examine the mass grave.

The next morning brought a chill that crept into Greg Lestrade's bones. He shivered as he dug through his duffel bag, to find the measuring instrument to read the climate. He picked up the black box and turned it on. The display lit up blue. He selected the data he wanted and waited for the device had done its thing. -175°C

 He turned it off and resumed to dug through his bag. He pulled out a little box and opened it. Inside were a few needles, a blood meter, and a plastic case with injection pens. He picked up the needle and stuck it in the crook of his left arm. Then he dropped the blood sample on the meter and checked the results.

 Good, the amount of antifreeze in his system was still quite low. He cleaned the needle and threw it away. Then he took a bottle with the synthetic antifreeze out the case and filled the injection pen with a small amount of its content. Then he administered a small dose of the fluid into his artery at his thigh. Enough to protect against the cold, but not enough to be lethal. It effects were immediate as it entered his system, and Lestrade felt the cold lessening.

 He got dressed and walked towards the sleeping quarters of the sergeant of the first squad. It was dark as he walked between the bunk beds. No-one stirred as he walked past their sleeping forms buried under the army issued blankets.

 He arrived at the door, knocked once and entered the room. The bed stood against the far wall of the tiny room. He walked towards it and kicked the bed-frame to wake up the man sleeping inside. The hunter growled as he opened his eyes and sat up.

 “We leave in five minutes.” The man hurried out of bed and stood at attention as Greg resumed speaking to the bleary-eyed hunter.

 "We are going to examine the creatures buried inside the grave the wizardess found yesterday night.” Greg waited until the sergeant had made the indication he’d heard him and said to the hunter before he turned around and walked out of the room: “I want Kelley to come with us so wake him and meet us at the entrance of the barracks with your equipment.”

 As he stepped out of the barracks, he looked up at the sky and saw Saturn’s shape peeking through the yellowish clouds. Lovegood had eventually persuaded him why it would be prudent for them to examine the creatures, but Greg Lestrade still resented the fact that it would delay their main objective.

 When he arrived at the wizardess's tent which was a few steps away from the barracks, he greeted the two hunters standing at attention before the opening.

 "Rosen. Renfield. " He nodded to the brown-haired woman and the black haired man standing guard and asked: "Did she sleepwalk again?"

 Rosen remained silent as the man next to her sighted. "Not tonight, sir. Should I wake her up?" Renfield asked.

 He nodded: "We will spend two hours on examining the creatures you found in the mass grave. Make sure the wizardess is ready in two minutes. I will be waiting by the barracks with Parker and Kelley."

 The two hunters saluted and Renfield went inside the tent while Greg turned around and walked back towards the barracks to get ready.

 

 

Jonno Renfield stepped into the tent and led his eyes slid over the interior. From outside the tent looked small, but inside the space was a lot bigger. He walked towards the lab to look if the wizardess was there on the off chance she was already awake. But the room was empty except for a few instruments and a table loaded with test tubes, scales, and other equipment. Their exact function eluding him.

 _Still sleeping then_ he thought to himself and walked towards the sleeping quarters. A spacious bed stood at the back of the room. He walked closer until he stood before the bed and looked at the sleeping form buried under the blankets.

 He took a deep breath and kicked against the furniture to wake her up. The pale blue eyes of the wizardess opened and peered dreamily from under light blond hair at the hunter.

 “Good morning mister Renfield”

 "Good morning wizardess Lovegood. Captain Lestrade wants to see us in two minutes at the barracks.

 "We’re going to do the examination of the mass grave?" She asked in a soft voice. Jonno nodded and stepped back as the wizardess sat upright, to get out of her way.

 "The temperature has dropped during the night, so keep that in mind. We have only two hours to get to the area and explore the creatures. So make sure you have everything you will be needing for the research with you when we leave." He leaned against a wooden tent pole while addressing her, while the other swung her legs aver the edge of the bed. She nodded and Jonno’s attention was drawn to her feet that were wearing brown furry boots. _I had wondered why she always wore shoes when she sleepwalks._

 A cold wind blew inside and Jonno shivered. "If you want, I can recite a heat spell for you. It has fewer risk than the liquid you hunters use." Pale blue eyes looked at him without blinking.

 "That wouldn't be necessary, Wizardess Lovegood." He said. "The liquid was developed by the organization and therefore save enough for us to use."

 The wizardess shrugged and walked past Jonno as she moved towards her chest. She crouched on her knees and took from it the rest of her outfit. Jonno keeping a close eye on her, while she assembled the equipment she needed.

 When she indicated that she was done, Jonno motioned for the other to walk before him. Outside they were joined by Becky and together they made their way towards the barracks, where Lestrade, Parker, and Kelley were waiting for them.


	7. Going into Relicario Aldea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After their investigation on the mass grave, Becky, Luna, Renfield, Parker and Kelley get sent to Relicario Aldea to investigate. They expect a little village but are surprised to find that it has grown into a pretty big city. Inhabited by an alien race who are big. Really big.

The glow of the monitors illuminates the command center where Lestrade, Parker, and Lovegood are standing around a map of the area. The spirits from the mass grave had shown them images of a castle carved into the wall of a volcano and an abandoned little village in its shadow.

“We got orders to collect information on possible threats within the area. As we don’t want to alert the population of our presence yet, the majority of the company will stop here.” The captain pointed to the dunes to the left of the village.  
“Meanwhile, your group will go to the village to collect information. Once it’s found, we will continue to our primary mission. Only when a threat requires our immediate action, will we deal with it.  
Any questions?” It stays quiet. "Good, you will get forty-eight terra hours to collect the info we need. You’re dismissed.

Luna walks out and goes straight to her tent as she thinks about what the spirits had shown them. They had been magical, just like her. And because of their association with magic, they were massacred. It reminds her of the situation back on Earth and how she’s monitored on Titan constantly.

She looks backward towards her guards behind her. She wonders how they thing about the situation they’re in with each other. Would she ever make friends among the humans? Or would their alliance forever be an uneasy one?

Inside her tent, she packs the stuff she things she’ll need and puts them in a large backpack. They are mainly her research instruments and some invigorating potions so she could keep summoning spells if they walked into trouble and things went downhill from there.  
Done with packing, she takes off her uniform and swaps them with warm clothing a human / Ordinary would wear. Having done that, she checks everything for the second time.

Making sure she has everything she needs and in perfect condition, she walks outside.  
At the entrance, she sees only Renfield waiting there. “Ready to go sorceress?” He asks as he slides his eyes over her outfit. “I was beginning to wonder if you Magicals ever wore normal clothes in District 3.”

She looks him straight in the eyes and gives him her undivided attention. She waits to see if he would say more. For a moment they stare at another without saying anything. “Not every one of us wears robes when we’re not in uniform.” He smiles just a little but it’s gone as soon as she’d seen it and he motions for her to walk to the barracks. It’s not the first time he’s a tiny bit friendly to her. She begins to wonder whether he would become one of the few humans who doesn't see them as a necessary evil.

 

 

The cryovolcano was huge and seemed to reach for Saturn, visible in the sky as always. The hunters had exchanged their ACU’s for civilian clothes. They were wide, hiding their primary weapons.

The convoy had dropped them a few miles from the village. They wanted to avoid potential travelers spotting their departure from a military convoy. The dunes made way and revealed a large plain. The castle on the volcano was impressive, but Becky’s attention was quickly diverted to the foot of the volcano.

“Looks like it’s been a few centuries since those poor fuckers got iced.” The village that they had expected to see was now a city. From what Becky could see, a large part of the city was not only built around the volcano. But as they got closer she could see that a small part of the city was built atop the volcano.

“I suggest we split up into two groups.” Parker clipped voice demanded her attention. “Two of us will look for a place to spend the night, while the rest of us will hunt for info. Rosen, Kelly you two will look for an abandoned house we will use as base.

Any questions?” Parker looked them in the eyes. When nobody said anything he nodded and went on. “I want absolute radio silence while we do this. Only make contact when shit hits the fan and you need extraction. Clear?” Everyone nodded. “Good, then we meet here at twelve hundred hours.”

The minute they walked into the city, it was obvious to her for the first time that aliens actually existed.

They were huge, had the skin of an amphibian and had horns. Kelly, who was one of their world tallest humans, came to chest height.

The second thing Becky noticed, was that there were differences between each set of horns. Where the horns by one alien looked like that of a goat, the other alien's horn were more like that of sheep.

Kelley nudged her shoulder. "Pay attention Rosen, we must find a place to sleep for the afternoon." Becky nodded and began to analyze the condition of the houses around them. As well as the creatures passing them on the street.

They'd started their search on the outskirts of the city. The chance of finding a vacant house here was larger than in the center of the city. Where the well-kept houses of the rich and the elite were.

The buildings here were high and the streets narrow. The architecture was different to those on earth and the building materials used, unrecognizable. "The houses are in good condition, as far as I can see. The clothes of the inhabitants look well cared for, as well as the gardens and the porches of the buildings."

Kelley nodded. "Maybe it's a good idea to walk toward the volcano and look for a vantage point where we can survey the city."

Becky thought it over. Walking there alone would take time, but she didn't have anything better. "Okay, let's do that. Then we have a something to report at least. Even if it's only an estimate where we can find an abandoned home."

So they took off towards the volcano. To get there they had to go through the densely populated part of the city. Becky began to tense when she felt the stares of the aliens when they moved past them. She had lived most of her life in district two, home of the Hunter Clan, and had during her childhood been surrounded by only humans. She'd never seen a Supernatural before until she joined the Peace Corps and met them for the first time.

An hour later the streets became broader and quieter and they picked up the pace. Within minutes they came to the slope of the volcano. They were halfway on their ascent when they a square caught their attention.

"Seems we were right to go the volcano.” The houses here were rundown and the gardens a wilderness of weeds and flowers.

Becky breathed a sigh of relieve. "How much time do we have?"

"Half an hour before we have to go back again. You take this block, then I check if there is a place in the next quarter." Becky nodded and took one of the side streets while Kelley went up the road.

The architecture of the houses was different here than the rest of the city and wider. In the gardens surrounding the buildings, Becky could see yellow, blue and red flowers. Everywhere she could look she saw flowers with shapes she'd never seen before.

As she walked on drinking in the sight, the gardens became lusher until she arrived at a second square. This one smaller than the one where she and Kelley had separated. The surrounding buildings a lot more neglected.

Becky drank in the sight and walked closer to the gardens when something drew her attention in one of them. It was mostly hidden by flower bushes and Becky walked into the garden to get a closer look. She pushed a few of the flowers aside so she could take a close look at what had drawn her attention.

It was a statue. The figure was as big as her and made of a black material. The depicted creature was different from the creatures Becky had seen until now. Now that she thought about it, it looked more like the creatures they'd found in the mass grave.

He was dressed in the same uniform as the soldiers that were buried in the dunes and stood to his full height. The features were noble and sharp with white spots which formed a mask around his eyes. The look in his red eyes imperious. His hand-like claws were resting on the pommel of a sword at his right side and on a shield that stood to his left.


	8. Welcome Hunters and Monsters, welcome to Titan - Part 01

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luna speaks with an alien.
> 
> Jonno and Luna have a conversation that reminds Jonno of the fact that she is not a human being.

Renfield watched as the huge body of the alien loomed over Lovegood. His huge horns poking through the thick fur on its head looked razor sharp and Jonno kept a close eye on the two.

It didn't sit well with him. The conversation had been going on for quite a while and neither he nor Parker spoke the language. Surely it wouldn't take that long to ask someone where they could sample some of the local history?

Lovegood hadn't shown any signs that she was a danger to them, but he couldn't say with absolute certainty that she was trustworthy.

He looked to his sergeant and saw that he too began to become impatient. Parker coughed to get her attention and indicated that she had to round up the conversation. She nodded and continued.

 _It wouldn't do you any good to worry unnecessarily_. The wizardess raised her left hand and made a series of complicated gestures. _Just keep your eyes open and don't be tempted by her dreamy nature_. The alien had begun his own series of gestures with his right claw. Making the process a kind of dance. _The mission is important for both groups. No need to thwart each other_.

"What did he say?" Parker asked her when she finally had finished the apparent farewell ritual.

She joined them while the alien continued on its way and replied, "There are two places where we can look for information. They have an exhibition on the birth of the city and the battle that took place in a museum at the city center. But that will be closing now since it's almost evening. So we have to wait for a few terra hours before we can go there. The second place that we can investigate is the archives of the city. The chronicles and reports on the battles are stored there, but those are unfortunately not open to the public."

"And since we're not here in an official capacity, we will be unable to demand their release." Added Jonno.

Parker sighed as he looked at his watch and said, "It's time to go to the meeting point. Let's hope the others found a place where we can take shelter for the night. Once we're there, we will make a plan for the next few hours.

***  


Parker walked at the front. Followed by the wizardess who stopped walking every time she saw something interesting. And that was often. He began to become irritated so when she stood still to ask something of a Titan, he grabbed her arm in annoyance.

"I understand that it's all very fascinating, but we don't have the time. We have 24 hours to find the information. So save it when we're done." That said, he nodded to the creature that Lovegood had approached and pulled her along.

"You're attracting too much attention with all those questions." He pushed her in front of him and released her arm. "Attention we can't use if we want our mission to succeed."

She shook her head and said, "I only asked them if they had seen any strange appearances."

"Why the hell would you want to know that?"

"What typically happens when people die a violent death?"

"They mostly come back as ghosts. To take revenge." He shuddered and thought back to what they had seen when they examined the grave. "Are you saying that the souls of the creatures from the mass grave are haunting this city?"

"No. Not their spirits. Spirits are tied to a certain place, remember. No, I'm talking about those that were left inside the city." Jonno was walking next to her and turned his gaze towards her in surprise. "You think they were massacred. That would explain why we haven't come across any creatures that resemble them. Even just a little."

"You noticed it too." Lovegood had come to a standstill and stared at him when he turned towards her. "As far as we have seen, this city is only inhabited by the creatures that share the characteristics of the soldiers who destroyed the group we found in the mass grave. Of course, we haven't seen the rest of the city, but something tells me that they haven't spared any of the lives of the old inhabitants when they took the city. Not when I think back to the way they murdered their victims."

Jonno remembered the looks of the soldiers while they watched as the small army was driven into the ravine. How they showed no emotion while the cries of despair and pain echoed against the walls when an invisible hand crushed the bodies below by pounding on them with big chunks of rock for several times. Especially the voices of the few child soldiers who had been in the army had been harrowing.

"No, it wouldn't." They were walking again and Jonno looked around him. He began to become aware again of who the people around him were and grabbed the handle of his knife unconsciously. I will be able to breathe normally again when we've left this city. Too many of these fucking monsters.

Suddenly he felt the palm of a hand upon his clenched hand. He turned quickly to the Wizardess who looked worried and snapped at her, "Keep your hands to yourself."

She let him go and said, "I'm sorry, Hunter. I only wanted to point out that you began to draw attention." He frowned and saw how the Titans were staring at him. Stares that were focused on his waist, towards his hidden weapons. He relaxed his fist and let his hand fall at his side.

The Wizardess had started walking again, and Jonno stared at her back when they continued on their way. It was tense, and Jonno began to regret his reaction. It hadn't been his intention to react so violently, but the situation had reminded him of the fact that she too wasn't human. And that made her a potential threat. She was after all a wand user and thus one of the creatures they had hunted, once upon a time. _I had forgotten that because of her gentleness and openness. I have to remind myself that she's dangerous. Too powerful to not be on my guard around her._

"Renfield, Lovegood, what took you so long?" They had left the city and the sergeant was waiting for them impatiently. Becky and Kelley were also there and his partner looked at him questioningly. "Kelly and Rosen have found a place where we can make base for the night. It is a ruin at the old part of the city that's built on the slope of the cryovolcano."


	9. Echo's from the past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They camp out in the building Sgt. Kelley found earlier during the day when they are visited during the night.

 

They were standing before an overgrown building. Plants crawled along its walls and into the broken windows. Hidden from view by the jungle of plants, it was the perfect place to make camp for the duration of their stay. Kelley led the way with Parker and was the first to enter the building. The night had fallen during their walk over here and Luna had to fight the urge to summon her light orb and turned on her borrowed flashlight instead.

She stepped into the building as Kelley and Parker turned on their flashlight as well. In the soft light, Luna could see that see that they were standing in a large hall overlooking a hallway. At the left of them was a staircase that led to a landing that had collapsed at a few places. She wondered if this was due to the passage of time or if something untoward had happened at the house.

The group wandered into the hallway when an awful smell attacked their senses and Luna had to cover her nose.

“Damn, what is that stench.” The exclamation came from Kelley as he flashed his flashlight around them. Something on the wall gets his attention as he stops moving and Luna looks at the place the light is pointing at. Covering the walls is a brown, algae like substance. The air entering her nose is biting and burns her eyes as she walks closer a part of the wall that's almost completely covered by the stuff.

They resume their walk through the hallway when Luna feels likes she'd suddenly run into an invisible wall. Rooted on the spot, she's flooded by a wave of emotions as feelings of hatred, fear and pain come in waves and constrict her throat. Making it difficult for her to breathe properly. Her heart pulls together in her chest and her vision becomes blurry as tears begin to fill her eyes. The intensity of the emotions make her double over and she has to lean against the wall to keep herself from falling to the ground.

“Wizardess Lovegood?” She feels a hand on her shoulder. “Do you feel unwell?” Kelley’s voice penetrates the cloud of emotions muddling her thoughts. She moans and Kelley helps her sit down.

“Would you like some water?” She shakes her head and tries to take back control over her breathing. Kelley crouches in front of her, trying to look her in the eyes. “Is it the mold?” She shakes her head again and takes a few deep breaths, her thoughts clearing just a little. Carefully and slowly she stands back up again when her attention is drawn to the doorway before her.

“What happened?” Kelley steps into her field of vision and looks at her intently. Something from the darkness in the room beyond is calling to her, begging her to step inside.

“Something in that room,” she pointed over his shoulder towards the room behind him, “has left behind strong echo’s of negative emotions.”

The hunter turns around at her words and walks to the doorway as he pulls out an EMF meter. “If something is haunting this room, we will find out soon enough.”

Luna hums softly as she carefully steps past him into the room. The light of her flashlight flits across the room as she moves it about. It's quite large and the ground is littered with mounds of debris, casting shadows across the floor and against the walls. The tables and chairs that had once furnished the room have fallen apart and are laying haphazardly around the room.

The air around her is suffocating as step by step the wizardess moves further into the room. Almost at the back of the room, she comes to an abrupt halt when the light of her flashlight lands on a pile of dust. Something in her guts tells her that this is the source of the negative emotions she’d felt in the hallway.

A shiver runs down her back and her hand moves subconsciously to her left thigh where her wand is hidden. Her hand slides over the handle when she hears the EMF meter gives off a squeak behind her. The sound getting louder as it comes closer only to go wild as Kelley comes to a halt next to her.

“Shit.” Kelley puts away the instrument and crosses himself. A lump forms in her throat. “How many do you think have died here?” He asks her.

“Three, maybe four? Does it matter?” Going by the severity of the residual emotions it wasn't an easy or gentle death, which to her, is more important than the number of deaths that had occurred.

He makes no comment when he turns around abruptly and walks away with long strides. She casts one last quick look at the pile of dust that had once been the bodies of living beings before she follows the hunter out of the room.

 

 ***

 

Becky had a moment of panic when she couldn’t see Lovegood anywhere, but when she saw that Sgt. Kelley was missing as well she figured the man with the witch in another part of the building.

She looked at her partner and saw that he’d calmed down. She still didn't know what had happened between him and the witch, but when she had urged him to talk to her, he hadn't said a word.

During their search of the house it became quite clear that none of the rooms were really ideal, so they decided on taking a room at the back of the house.  
It was the only room with a ceiling and its Windows where at least boarded up with planks, keeping the wind out and the light in.

They dumb their stuff against the wall furthers away from the Windows. Becky placed her sleeping roll on the ground and stretched her back and looked around. Parker and Kelley, who had rejoined them when they were installing themselves, were busy at the center of the room.  
  
  
Parker clears his throat to get their attention and says: “Lovegood has discovered two places where we might find the information that we need. Unfortunately, only one of these places is open to the public. A museum in the city center.” They stand around a map that the wizardess had drawn based on her conversations with the aliens.  
  
“If the museum doesn't yield enough information for us to know what happened, we will have to go to the second spot and search it during the night. So tonight we will plan the break-in.”

They nodded and he continued on: “Since none of us speaks the language, Lovegood will be taking the lead during the operation.”  
  
  
Becky frowned and was about to speak, but her sergeant interjected before she could say a word: "I know you don't trust her, but at the moment she is the only one of us who can say for sure what information is and is not relevant for our investigation.”

“Permission to speak sir?” Jonno said through clenched teeth.

  
“Permission granted.”

  
“Why _is_ she the only one who speaks it. Why aren't any of us able to speak the language. It doesn't make sense. Doesn't you agree it’s too inconvenient if we want to do our job when there’s only one person who can communicate with the locals. Besides, we have no way off knowing what they’re even talking about, which could form a danger.”

“As a special agent, she’s part of the Men and Women of Letters and sent here as their spokeswoman. Are you saying you don’t trust the organization?”

“Of course not.” Renfield sounded offended and frowned when he continued: “The one I don't trust is her. She's a supernatural for god's sake. They were our enemies for centuries until five years ago. She could have a hidden agenda for all we know.”

Becky nodded and looked at her partner’s face. Whatever had happened between him and the witch, had solidified his stance on the Supernaturals inside their community. She was glad he had finally made up his mind about it and grabbed his hand and squeezed it.

 

 ***

 

Luna was sitting on the ground and leaned against the wall while she waited patiently until she could rejoin the others. The door to the room opened when suddenly the temperature tumbled down to a few degrees.

Luna looked at Renfield who was standing in the doorway and saw that the light in the room behind him began to flicker. She knew what this meant because of the hunter training she’d been required to follow and shot up. It looked like there were more places inside this building that had seen a violent murder.

She was about to warn Renfield about this when she saw from his face that this wasn’t necessary. The man’s face was tight and he threw her a warning look before he took out his firearm and turned around. Luna ran after him into the room and threw a quick look over the hunters inside the room.

All of them had their firearm pulled out as they assessed the room. A cold gust of wind blew across the room and the lights in the room turned off.

 “Lumos Maxima.” The tip of her wand light-up and a sphere of light materialized in the middle of the room.

Then from the shadows at the edges of the room, a shadowy figure appeared. The figure towered above them and came towards them at a slow pace. The blood dripping from his harness was the only color visible because of its intensity. As he comes closer, she recognizes his harness as that of the soldiers from her vision. The ones who watched on emotionless as their enemies were crushed by an invisible force.

A shot echo’s across the room and the figure vanishes into thin air as it’s shot apart. But a second figure soon takes his place. The second one lays in a small heap on the floor and the emotions that roll of off them is one of pure terror when the figure lifts their head. The face, stained by blood red tear tracks, appears to be young and a wave of immense sadness washes over her.

She looks at the hunters who stand next to her and sees to her surprise that none of them show signs of attacking the figure. She watches on as the figure begins to crawl towards the door when suddenly she’s lifted into the air and hurled against the wall with great force.

Appalled she sees how the arms of the poor girl are pined against the wall. Cries of pain and despair fill the room. Cries which are becoming weaker as invisible hands grab her throat until the life seeps out of the battered body of the girl. For one last time, she moves her head sideways before she dissolves into nothing.

It takes a while to overcome her shock from what she saw. “You call a phenomenon like this a death echo, correct?” She focuses on Renfield who is standing next to her: “A spirit that constantly relives the moment of their death?” Renfield nods.

The light turns back on and the hunters put back their weapons. “We leave them mostly alone as they don’t endanger the living.” Kelley voice is sympathetic as he joins the conversation: “Though some of us believe that we owe it to them to get them out of their loop. So their souls can move on.”

“Why?”

“As you probably now, the motto of the hunters is: saving people, hunting monsters. Since not all otherworldly creatures are monsters” he looks at Luna as he says this, “it seems logical to me that the Supernaturals like the dead echo's fall under the category of beings that should be protected.”

A feeling of warmth spread through her body. _Would it still be possible_? She wonders as she looks at Renfield who looks dubious but doesn’t dodge her look as she makes eye contact with him. She’d begun to doubt his attitude because of how he’d treated her that afternoon.

She’s so used to having people approach her with hostility as if they have to protect themselves against her. She was less accustomed to people who treated her with civility. Who gave her the benefit of the doubt. She’d thought Renfield fell into the second category because he’d been sometimes even friendly, making her think that he trusted her enough to not be apprehensive about her powers. She was therefore surprised to see fear in his eyes when she’d laid her hand on his fist that afternoon.

"And yet you don’t trust me. Not all the way at least.” Renfield and Kelley tense up and look at each other.

“You have to understand Wizardess Love. For many of us, the war still lies fresh in our memories. We know that the Hogwarts clan were our allies and that your species generally don’t attack humans. But since we don’t know what your role inside this mission is exactly, we are suspicious about your presence here.”

“Although I’m of the opinion that we should give you the benefit of the doubt.” Kelley sounds slightly irritated as if he and Renfield have discussed this at length. “My instincts are rarely wrong in this kind of situation.”

Renfield looks as if he wants to say something, but doesn’t get the opportunity as a scream tears trough the air, shaking the wooden planks boarding the windows.

 


	10. Beginnins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luna and Greg call the Men and Women of Letters about the mass grave.
> 
> Jonno, Anthony, and Luna investigate the shout from last chapter.

 

No one moves while the hunters inside the room look at each other. The first one to move is Sergeant Parker who points out two of them. “Kelley, Renfield go outside and investigate the source of that scream. Sorceress Lovegood I want you to go with them as their interpreter. And remember to hold up our cover.”

“Understood Sir.” The two men salute while Luna puts away her wand and pulls her coat tighter around herself. Without waiting for the others she walks towards the door opening while Kelley and Renfield tuck away their weapons. Having done that they follow her at a quick pace.

The hunters walk through the hallway and towards the hall as they pass the fungus. Jonno’s eyes begin to prick as an unpleasant feeling gets a hold of him and he looks toward the wall on his left. Had the fungus grown overnight, or is he imagining things? He shakes off the feeling of unease. They don’t have time to investigate, nor is it relevant for their stay here. Probably.

He resumes his walk and gets to the hall. When he steps outside, he sees the back of Lovegood disappear around the corner of the house and speeds up his steps.

When they round the corner at the right side of the house, he sees the path branch out into two smaller paths, on leading to a field hidden by a hedge and another that continues around the house. Kelley points to the ground and Jonno sees that a pair of footprints follows the path towards the field. They follow the footprints quickly, hoping that Lovegood hasn’t run off on them.

They walk through the opening in the hedge and step onto the enclosed place. The footprints of the sorceress go further onto the field. The grass inside this part of the garden is tall and reaches up to chest height. It hampers their vision as well as the enormous plants that stand in groups throughout the field. They have odd shapes and as Jonno walks past one of the shrubs, he catches a glimpse of a face made of stone.

 _That explains the odd shapes of the shrubs. They are statues covered by the plants that the former residents planted when they lived here._ He thinks to himself.

At the edge of the field they see a hedge of trees and come to an abrupt halt when they pass it.

Standing a few meters before them stands a huge tree and surrounding it is a group of Titans. Nailed to its trunk they see the battered body of a Titan.

They look at each other. Kelley shrugs his shoulders.

“Looks like we were not the only ones who heard the scream.”

“But how the hell did they get here so quickly. Isn’t this neighborhood abandoned?” Jonno looks towards Kelley who frowns and says: “Doesn’t that mean that they shouldn’t have heard the scream in the first place?”

 “Maybe Lovegood was right.” Remembering the conversation he’d had with Lovegood, Jonno tells Kelley what Lovegood had said about a possible haunting inside the city.

“I see.” Kelley says. “Let’s walk towards them and see if Lovegood is among them. Then we can question them to see if Lovegood was right and if we are indeed dealing with a murderous ghost.”

When they arrive at the edge of the group of Titans, Jonno looks up at the body and sees that it’s small. The victim’s eyes are wide open, just like the mouth. Blood drips along the tree from the many wounds littering the body and tinges the bark of the tree a hue of red.

For a second he diverts his attention to Kelley walking towards Lovegood who is involved in a conversation with one of the aliens. Then he takes his digital glasses from the folds of his coat and put them on. He summons the interface of the glasses and selects the binocular function.

He directs his field of vision on the body and makes an assessment of the corps. The position of the body reminds him of the dead echo back at the house, so he focuses on the neck of the victim. Bruises are visible on the throat and when he moves his gaze towards the face, he sees that they too show traces of blood red tears.

 

 

The area is shrouded in shadows, the only light source the interface of the communication system. A holographic hourglass tolls in the air while soft tones fill the silence that hangs between the human and the wizaredess. She had insisted that they would make contact with the top of the Men and Women of Letters. After a long discussion, the captain had given his permission under the condition that he would be present during the conversation. And now they were waiting for their call to get through to headquarters.

Suddenly the melody stops and before them loom the holograms of two figures shrouded in shadows. “Captain Lestrade, what’s so important that you have the audacity to contact US?” A distorted voice filled with irritation cuts through the air and Luna feels a chill shoot trough her.

“I’m terribly sorry Sirs, but Wizardess Lovegood insisted that we informed you about something she and two of my hunters have found in the dunes surrounding the area Relicario Aldea.”

Luna feels a shiver run down her back as the attention of the two shifts to her. But her confidence doesn’t waver and says with a light voice: “Several hours ago, I and my bodyguards stumbled upon a mass grave. I could do some test on the remains inside. But due to a low level of mana, I had to stop my research before I could do a thorough examination.

During the test that I could perform, I found something that could prove interesting for the Organization. The remains of the victims showed a high concentration of sulfur and acid, so I would like to ask your permission to summon a level 12 spell.”

The responses to her request are instantaneous. The man next to her stiffens and a wave of scorn crash upon her from the two figures on the other side of the solar system. But she refuses to give up and continues: “I ask because I believe that the soldiers inside the mass grave were victims of a powerful magic attack.

As such, I was hoping to find out more about its source by accessing the memories of the environment. To extract information about the … monster” she had to force the word trough her throat, “that could be responsible for the slaughter of such proportions.”

“And you need a level 12 spell for that, because..?”

“There is no other way for me to find out with certainty what exactly happened. Because the Callback spell can also be used to communicate with the victims about the circumstances of the attack.”

The oppressive silence that follows gets broken, when one of the figures coughs slightly.

“Normally a situation like this would warrant for a level 12 spell. But since the Callback spell poses no threat to the safety of our soldiers, so you have our permission to cast the spell.

But to make sure this is indeed the spell you’re going to use and not another one entirely, you will be accompanied by a small team of hunters.”

The figure turns his attention towards Lestrade after this and says: “Captain, I want you and two other hunters off your choice to follow the Wizardess and her bodyguards while she does her investigation. IF it turns out that the attack has an effect on the present time and the local Titans of non-supernatural origin, our orders are to put together a team and to deal with it. To get it resolved before you make your way towards your coordinates. Is that clear?”

“With all due respect Sir, but as this could lead to delays that…”

“IS that clear, Captain Lestrade?”

"Yes, Sir.”

"Good, if that's all?"

Lestrade growls in frustration but nods in confirmation as the call discontinues and they are surrounded by a suffocating darkness.


End file.
